Village Roadshow Entertainment Group Announces Local China Film Unit

Initial Slate of Films Under Village Roadshow Pictures Asia Banner

Joins Chinese Talent with International Strategic Alliances

BEIJING and HONG KONG, Nov. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Village Roadshow Entertainment Group ("VREG") today unveiled its newly-launched platform for Chinese film production and distribution, together with details of its partner alliances, management team and initial slate of films which will be released under the Village Roadshow Pictures Asia label.

Village Roadshow Entertainment Group Asia ("VREG Asia") has established a platform that joins the Chinese film industry and Hollywood in a closer partnership, to provide development, financing, production, technical services and distribution support to film producers, directors and creative talent across Greater China.  To date, VREG Asia has formed local strategic partnerships with actress-producer Zhang Ziyi, producer Bill Kong, director Chen Daming, and Dadi Media.  At the same time, VREG Asia has formed strategic overseas alliances with the leading Australian visual effects and animation studio Animal Logic, Cimarron Group, an entertainment marketing powerhouse with offices in both Beijing and Los Angeles, and the premiere entertainment industry market research and marketing information company, Screen Engine, to bring international expertise and professional technical services to the Chinese market.

"As a global entertainment company that operates across all areas of the film and music industry, we are making state-of-the-art resources available to our partners in China," said Greg Basser, CEO of Village Roadshow Entertainment Group.  "We are honored to join forces with local and international partners to develop and produce movie projects, and to become a participant in the Chinese film industry."

VREG Asia has opened an office in Beijing, with Ellen R. Eliasoph, a 25-year film industry veteran, as President and Chief Executive Officer.  Previously the Managing Director of Warner Bros. Pictures China, Eliasoph was responsible for managing Warner Bros.' participation in "Turn Left, Turn Right", "The Painted Veil", "Crazy Stone", "Crazy Racer" and other co-production projects.  Other key members of the VREG Asia team include Ming "Beaver" Kwei, serving as Executive Vice President of Development and Production, and Lizhi Chen, Vice President, Marketing and Distribution.

"Having worked with China's filmmakers and film companies for many years in a joint effort to develop the film market, I am gratified to witness China's growing emergence as a major player in the global film industry, and delighted to be a part of it," said Ms. Eliasoph.  "VREG Asia will propel this trend forward by working closely with China's filmmakers, helping them tell their stories, and working to bring their films to an ever-widening audience around the world."

The initial slate of VREG Asia films was also announced and includes "My Lucky Star" and "Journey to the West."

The Pan-Asia romantic comedy/caper film, "My Lucky Star" will star and be produced by Zhang Ziyi.  VREG Asia and Dadi Media will jointly finance and co-produce the picture, which will be directed by Hollywood director Dennie Gordon, whose credits include "New York Minute" and the hot US TV series "30 Rock".

"Journey to the West", an adaptation of the "Monkey King" story, is being written, produced and directed by Stephen Chow, with Bingo Group, VREG Asia and Edko Films are jointly financing and co-producing.

About Village Roadshow Entertainment Group

Village Roadshow Entertainment Group is a leading independent global entertainment company that is in the business of building content-rich entertainment companies that employ innovative strategies to develop, produce, acquire and exploit intellectual property rights with timeless appeal.

Through its film division, Village Roadshow Pictures, VREG co-produces and co-finances major Hollywood motion pictures and has international exploitation rights to 68 major Hollywood studio films including the Happy Feet, Sherlock Holmes, The Matrix and Ocean's franchises.

Its music division, Concord Music Group, offers comprehensive production, sales, marketing and distribution capabilities to more than 160 recording artists, and has a deep catalog of over 8,000 recorded masters and 14,000 owned or administered song copyrights.

VREG's Australian listed shareholder, Village Roadshow Limited and particularly through its executive chairman Robert Kirby, has been a strong participant in the Asian-Pacific film industry for over 40 years and was a pioneer of the modern cinema industry in Asia almost 20 years ago with the establishment of the Golden Village cinema circuit in Singapore.

www.vreg.com  

About Animal Logic

One of the world's most highly respected digital production studios, Animal Logic, produces award-winning design, animation and visual effects for the film, television and advertising industries. Credits include 3D Animated feature Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, Happy Feet, LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace, 300, Hero, House of Flying Daggers, Moulin Rouge and The Matrix. Animal Logic has studios in Sydney and Los Angeles.   Information about Animal Logic is available at www.animallogic.com

About The Cimarron Group

The Cimarron Group is a full service marketing agency that specializes in the Entertainment, Automotive and Hospitality Industries with offices in Hollywood, Beijing and Singapore.  Cimarron helped pioneer Entertainment Marketing over 30 years ago.  The 200-person agency has successfully developed and executed innovative campaigns for leading entertainment, automotive, and travel and leisure businesses, including more than 650 major motion picture launches, headlining attractions and clubs at Las Vegas Casinos and major activations for Chrysler.  Current agency clients include all the major movie studios, MGM Mirage Hospitality, Cirque du Soleil and Coca Cola, among others.  The Cimarron Group is the parent company of Cimarron Entertainment, Cimarron Group Asia and The Traffic Agency.  The Cimarron Group can be reached at +1-323-337-0300, or visit the company website at www.cimarrongroup.com.

About Screen Engine, LLC

Screen Engine, LLC., the entertainment industry's premier market research and marketing information company, specializes in providing research and analysis of entertainment content for "the four screens." It currently offers a full spectrum of global entertainment research products and services, including recruited audience screenings, focus groups, advertising studies, syndicated tracking products and online panels and communities.  Screen Engine's CEO, Kevin Goetz, is a leading expert in the entertainment research field, and is often sought out by filmmakers and studio executives for his keen understanding of moviegoers' tastes and trends. In October 2011, Screen Engine launched the most comprehensive study ever undertaken to measure movie-going behavior and trends throughout China, in coordination with China's leading media research company. This is the first step to Screen Engine introducing its full complement of research products and services to the Chinese film industry.

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